Interesting read. Seems like people are fed up already with President Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood.

CAIRO -- As the streets once again fill with protesters eager to oust the president and Islamists determined to keep him in power, Egyptians are preparing for the worst: days or weeks of urban chaos that could turn their neighborhoods into battlegrounds.

Households already beset by power cuts, fuel shortages and rising prices are stocking up on goods in case the demonstrations drag on. Businesses near protest sites are closing until crowds subside. Fences, barricades and walls are going up near homes and key buildings. And local communities are organizing citizen patrols in case security breaks down.

For yet another time since President Mohammed Morsi took office last year, his palace in Cairo's upscale Heliopolis neighborhood is set to become the focus for popular frustration with his rule. Some protests outside the capital have already turned deadly, and weapons – including firearms – have been circulating more openly than in the past.

"We're worried like all Egyptians that a huge crowd will come, and it will get bloody," said Magdy Ezz, owner of a menswear shop across from the walled complex, a blend of Middle Eastern and neoclassical architecture. Besides ordinary roll-down storm shutters, storefronts on the street are sealed off with steel panels.

"We just hope it will be peaceful. But it could be a second revolution," he said. "If it lasts, we'll have to keep the store closed. But it's not like business has been booming here anyway, especially since the problems last year."

Last winter, the area saw some of Cairo's deadliest street violence since the 2011 uprising, with Islamists attacking a sit-in, anarchists throwing gasoline bombs, and police savagely beating protesters.

Morsi's opponents aim to bring out massive crowds starting Sunday, saying the country is fed up with Islamist misrule that has left the economy floundering and security in shambles. They say they have collected 15 million signatures – around 2 million more than the number of voters who elected Morsi – calling for him to step down, and they hope the turnout will push him to do just that.

Morsi's Islamist allies say they will defend the mandate of the country's first freely elected president, some with their "souls and blood" if necessary, while hard-liners have vowed to "smash" the protests.

On Friday, thousands of Morsi supporters launched a counterdemonstration, which some plan to continue as an open-ended sit-in at a mosque near the presidential palace – the endpoint of the main protest march two days later.

Both camps say they intend to be peaceful, but demonstrations could rapidly descend into violence – especially if the two sides meet. Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood group has said five of its members were killed in clashes with protesters in Nile Delta provinces over the past days. On Friday, two people were killed in clashes in the port city of Alexandria and at least five Brotherhood offices were torched, while the nation's highest religious authority, Al-Azhar, warned against "civil war."

At the Brotherhood's national headquarters in Cairo's Muqattam district, workers added a final layer of mortar to a brick wall topped with grating to reinforce the main gate. A bank on the corner was completely boarded up. Some fear protesters could descend on the neighborhood to attack the headquarters, as happened last spring when supporters and opponents of the president fought street battles that left 200 wounded.

"The police have to get this place secured. It's their job and I'm sure they will," said Hadi Saad, a designer who lives around the corner from the headquarters. "The demonstrations will be very big across the country, no matter if (Morsi) stays or goes, so we should be prepared here as well."

Other neighbors said they don't expect a repeat of violence in the area, a hill overlooking the rest of the city. Only a handful of police patrolled the neighborhood ahead of the weekend protests, corralling a 100-car queue to the main avenue's gas station.

Engineer Hasan Farag, also a neighbor, said residents were "hoping for the best." Some have begun to resent the Brotherhood's presence, however, and a petition to force the offices out has been circulating.

"The neighborhood is divided – some don't mind the headquarters being here, others do," Saad said.

Security has been redoubled at the presidential palace in Heliopolis. Walls set up last year still block some traffic access, and curved concrete slabs designed to prevent climbing now protect the main gates. Shipping containers also line much of the perimeter, and nearby apartment buildings have blocked off their parking lots and side streets with barbed wire. On Friday, authorities built a new wall of concrete blocks to surround the complex.

Peter Soliman, a communications student who lives in the neighborhood, said most residents don't know what to expect.

"Of course, parents are worried about their children going out to demonstrate by the palace, especially if the Brotherhood shows up," he said. "People fear things will turn bloody and divide the country."

In the city center, concrete walls continue to block off the Interior Ministry and southern access routes to Tahrir Square, epicenter of the uprising that overthrew longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak. Protesters began gathering at the square ahead of the weekend, saying they plan to dig in for a protracted conflict.

The nearby Semiramis Hotel is taking no chances, even though Tahrir is expected to be a sideshow compared to Sunday's march to the palace. The site of repeated clashes between stone-throwing youths and riot police this past year, the luxury hotel has just finished fortifying itself with a spiked metal fence topped with razor-sharp blades.

To the south, in the leafy Garden City neighborhood – an area that has sometimes seen spillover violence from Tahrir – some residents were securing their homes.

Metalworker Sameh Haddad used an arc welder to put the final touches on an apartment building's new wrought iron gate before hurrying to other appointments. "For once, business has been great," he said.

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10 dead in Egypt clashes, millions join protestHealth Ministry: 613 people injured; five shot in towns south of Cairo, two more during attack on Brotherhood's headquarters.

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CAIRO - At least ten people were killed in Egypt and more than 600 wounded on Sunday in clashes between supporters and opponents of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi, Israel Radio reported.

Five of the dead were shot in towns south of Cairo, one each in Beni Suef and Fayoum and three in Assiut.

Two more were killed by gunfire during an attack on the national headquarters of Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood in a suburb of the capital, medical sources said.

Hundreds of people throwing petrol bombs and rocks attacked the building, which caught fire as guards and Brotherhood members inside the building exchanged gunfire with attackers.

State news agency MENA reported that 11 were treated in hospital for birdshot wounds.

Across the country, the Health Ministry said, 613 people were injured as a result of factional fighting in the streets.

In Cairo and Alexandria, more than one million demonstrated.

Hundreds of people throwing petrol bombs and rocks attacked the national headquarters of Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood. The building caught fire as guards and protesters exchanged gunfire.

The attack came amid mass protests of hundreds of thousands of Egyptians on the first anniversary of Morsi's inauguration demanding his resignation.

Waving national flags and chanting "Get out!", a crowd of more than 200,000 had massed by sunset on Cairo's central Tahrir Square in the biggest demonstration since the 2011 uprising that overthrew Morsi's predecessor, Hosni Mubarak.

"The people want the fall of the regime!" they shouted, echoing the Arab Spring rallying cry that brought down Mubarak - this time yelling it not against an aging dictator but against the first elected leader in Egypt's 5,000 year recorded history.

Brotherhood spokesman Gehad El-Haddad said he was in contact by telephone with staff at the Muslim Brotherhood compound, who told him its fortified perimeter had not been penetrated. Several provincial offices of the movement have been attacked in recent days.

The liberal opposition National Salvation Front coalition declared victory in what it styled "Revolutionary Communique No. 1" saying the masses had "confirmed the downfall of the regime of Mohamed Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood".

Organizers called on demonstrators to continue to occupy central squares in every city until Morsi quits. The Tahrir Square crowd roared with approval as an army helicopter hovering overhead dropped Egyptian flags on the protesters.

A military source said the move was intended to promote patriotism and was not a gesture of political support.

Many bellowed their anger at Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood, accused of hijacking the revolution and using electoral victories to monopolize power and push through Islamic law.

Others have been alienated by a deepening economic crisis and worsening personal security, aggravated by a political deadlock over which Morsi has presided.

As the working day ended and 38 Celsius (100 Fahrenheit) heat eased, more protesters converged through the eerily deserted streets of the shuttered city center, while smaller crowds protested in several other areas of the capital.

The veteran leaders of Egypt's secular, liberal and left-wing opposition, including former chief of the UN nuclear watchdog Mohamed ElBaradei and leftist presidential candidate Hamdeen Sabahi, joined protest marches in Cairo.

A Reuters journalist said hundreds of thousands of anti-government protesters marched through the Mediterranean port of Alexandria, Egypt's second city, and a military source reported protests in at least 20 towns around the country.

Morsi, an engineering professor propelled to power by the Muslim Brotherhood, was monitoring events from the heavily guarded Qubba presidential palace, where an official spokesman appealed for the demonstrations to remain peaceful.

A senior Brotherhood politician, Essam El-Erian, denounced the protests as a "coup attempt".

In a statement on the group's website, he challenged the opposition to test public opinion in parliamentary elections instead of "simply massing people in violent demonstrations, thuggery or shedding the precious blood of Egyptians".

"Maintaining the security of Egypt is the common responsibility of everyone," presidential spokesman Ehab Fahmy told a news conference. "Dialogue is the only way to reach mutual understanding and to reach national agreement around the different issues of our homeland."

I see one of 3 things happening
1.2nd revolution
2.someone else takes power but its really the same guy just different face.
3.some what unlike but possible the military mows them all down in amazing fashion.

'Threatening his people'
In a 45-minute address on state television, Mr Morsi said he accepted the right to peaceful protest, but said respect for constitutional order was the "only guarantee against further bloodshed".

"When there's violence and thuggery I must act," he said.

Egypt in 90 seconds: How did we get here?
Mr Morsi said he would give his life to defend constitutional legitimacy.

He blamed the unrest on corruption and remnants of the ousted regime of Hosni Mubarak, and called for protesters to respect the rule of law.

Mr Morsi urged the establishment of a committee of reconciliation as well as a charter of ethics for the media, and said he was prepared to meet all groups and individuals as part of a national dialogue process.

But Mohammed Abdelaziz, a leader of the Tamarod (Rebel) opposition campaign, told AFP: "This is a president threatening his own people. We don't consider him the president of Egypt."

BBC Middle East correspondent Kevin Connolly says Mr Morsi's statement makes it harder than ever to see what will happen as the countdown to the army's deadline ticks on inexorably.

He says the president's opponents are celebrating as though he has already been forced from office, but Mr Morsi and his Islamist supporters are not ready to tamely accept that fate.

There were outbreaks of violence in several parts of the capital on Tuesday, with casualties reported at hospitals in the north, south and centre of Cairo.

More clashes were reported across the country as leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood - the Islamist party from which Mr Morsi hails - urged their supporters on to the streets.

On Monday, eight people died as activists stormed and ransacked the Muslim Brotherhood's Cairo headquarters.

But demonstrations that had been jubilant when the army's ultimatum was interpreted as a coup-in-the-making turned increasingly confrontational later in the day.

In the wake of the latest unrest, the UK Foreign Office has changed its travel advice for Egypt recommending against all but essential travel to the country except for resorts on the Red Sea in South Sinai and in the Red Sea governorate.

The instability has also hit global oil prices, sending US light crude above $100 a barrel for the first time since September last year, amid concerns supply routes through the Suez Canal could be affected.

Resignations

Mr Morsi earlier met the head of the armed forces, Gen Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, for a second consecutive day. They did not give any details of the talks, which also included Prime Minister Hisham Qandil.

Military sources told the BBC the president's position was becoming "weaker" with every passing minute and suggested that under the draft plan, he could be replaced by a council of cross-party civilians and technocrats ahead of new elections.

Mr Morsi was put under further pressure by the resignation of six ministers from his government on Monday, including Foreign Minister Kamel Amr.

On Tuesday, the spokesmen for the presidency and the cabinet were also reported to have quit.

The UN high commissioner for human rights called on the president to engage in a "serious national dialogue" to end the political crisis, and said nothing should be done to undermine the democratic process.

The unrest has escalated since Sunday when Tamarod supporters rallied nationwide, urging the president to step down on the first anniversary of his coming to power.

Mr Morsi became Egypt's first Islamist president on 30 June 2012, after winning an election considered free and fair following the 2011 revolution that toppled Mubarak.

However, his first year in office has been marred by constant political unrest and a sinking economy.

Who would have thought. As far as I care, Egypt can burn if it wants Islamists in power and they know this.

Why do you ask?

Well, we here in the West dont take too kindly to regimes that want to kill us and our money, businesses and culture shall not invest in such a shithole.

Every so-called hardline pro Islamic state is a shit hole with rampant corruption, rampant birth rates, murder, cheap life and hatred for white people or anybody who doesn't follow the doctrine.

Its a shame really, Egypt has culture, history and decent people BUT they allowed these pro-Islamic nutjobs into power and their country. Until they remove these fucks from their nation we can only look on.

Egypt army ousts Mohamed Morsi, puts him under house arrest; millions celebrate

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CAIRO: Egypt's army overthrew elected President Mohamed Morsi, delighting millions who hated Islamist rule but incensing his supporters, who saw a military coup that poses dilemmas for Western leaders who promote democracy.

Morsi, elected a year ago in a vote hailed as a new dawn for the Arab world's biggest nation after the uprising of 2011, was held at a military facility in Cairo, a security source said.

Earlier, in a shaky, handheld video, and in a Facebook post he denounced "a full military coup" that would plunge Egypt into "chaos." But he urged his supporters not to fight back.

The head of the armed forces pledged new elections as part of a road map ironed out during a meeting with liberal opposition groups before Morsi's removal was announced. Liberals welcomed a relaunch of the transition to democracy, which they felt had been hijacked by Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood.

Military authorities immediately shut down television channels seen as sympathetic to the Muslim Brotherhood and began arresting other senior leaders.

Vast crowds partied in Cairo's Tahrir Square, recalling the Arab Spring revolution two years ago when the army toppled the autocrat Hosni Mubarak. But in clashes after dark across the country, at least 14 people were killed and over 340 wounded.

The fall of the first elected leader to emerge from the Arab Spring revolutions of 2011 raised questions about the future of political Islam, which had seemed triumphant. Deeply divided, Egypt's 84 million people find themselves again a focus of concern in a region traumatised by the civil war in Syria.

Straddling the Suez Canal and a key piece in the security of Israel, many powers have an interest in Egypt's stability.

The army put combat troops and tanks on streets around a gathering of thousands of Morsi's supporters in Cairo. It said it would keep order across the country.

Within a couple of hours of the broadcast by military chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, suspending the constitution and appointing the constitutional court's chief justice as interim head of state, three TV channels went off air. The Egyptian arm of Qatar's Al Jazeera was raided but kept transmitting.

The head of the political wing of Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood - the speaker of a disbanded parliament - was arrested at his home. State newspaper Al-Ahram said warrants were issued for 300 Brotherhood members accused of inciting unrest.

US President Barack Obama, whose administration provides $1.3 billion a year to the Egyptian military, expressed deep concern about Morsi's removal and called for a swift return to a democratically elected civilian government. But he stopped short of condemning a military move that could block US aid.

"During this uncertain period, we expect the military to ensure that the rights of all Egyptian men and women are protected, including the right to peaceful assembly, due process, and free and fair trials in civilian courts," he said.

Obama urged the new authorities to avoid arbitrary arrests and said US agencies would review whether the military action would trigger sanctions on aid. A senator involved in aid decisions said the United State would cut off its financial support if the intervention was deemed a military coup.

Much may depend on a strict definition of "coup."

Sisi, head of Egypt's armed forces, stressed that the army acted to enforce the will of the people. They demonstrated in the millions against Morsi this week. Sisi said the president had failed to heed their demands.

Washington's senior general, Martin Dempsey, said that if the move by Sisi, a graduate of the US Army War College, was seen as a coup it would affect relations: "There will be consequences if it is badly handled," he told CNN. "There's laws that bind us on how we deal with these kinds of situations."

Concerns over human rights have clouded US relations with Cairo, but did not stop aid flowing to Mubarak, or to Morsi.

The European Union, the biggest civilian aid donor to its near neighbour, also called for a rapid return to the democratic process. Foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said in a statement that should mean "free and fair presidential and parliamentary elections and the approval of a constitution."

She did not mention the constitution and elections already held in the past two years, whose results the armed forces have now cast aside. Constitutional court president Adli Mansour was to be sworn in as head of state at 10am (0800 GMT).

Revolution

The liberals' chief negotiator with the army, former UN diplomat Mohamed ElBaradei, said the programme agreed with the generals would ensure the continuation of the revolution.

Sisi said: "Those in the meeting have agreed on a road map for the future that includes initial steps to achieve the building of a strong Egyptian society that is cohesive and does not exclude anyone and ends the state of tension and division."

Sisi was flanked by his uniformed high command but also by a senior Muslim cleric, the pope of Egypt's Coptic Church and political leaders ranging from liberals to a bearded Islamist representative from the ultra-Islamic Nour Party. Also present were youth leaders who were given special mention by Sisi.

Reflecting the hopes of the "revolutionary youth" who led the charge against Mubarak, only to see the electoral machine of the Brotherhood dominate the new democracy, the young man who proved Morsi's extraordinary nemesis said the new transitional period must not repeat the mistakes of the recent past.

"We want to build Egypt with everyone and for everyone," said Mahmoud Badr, a 28-year-old journalist who first had the idea two months ago for a petition calling on Morsi to resign. By last weekend, the "Tamarud - Rebel!" movement was claiming 22 million backers, many of whom were on the streets on Sunday.

The army had already grown increasingly alarmed about Morsi dragging Egypt into the sectarian conflict in Syria and the turnout on the streets gave Sisi his justification for handing the president a 48-hour deadline to share power or lose it.

His overthrow may have repercussions in Tunisia, whose uprising prompted Egyptians to take on Mubarak, the last in a 60-year line of military-backed rulers. Tunisia now has its own "Tamarud" movement, seeking to end Islamist government.

On Tahrir Square, cradle of Egypt's January 25 Revolution in 2011, huge crowds in the hundreds of thousands set off fireworks and partied, chanting: "The people and the army are one hand!"

The past four days have seemed to many like a fast-motion rerun of the 18 days that brought down Mubarak, when the army that had long backed him realised his time was up.

Road map

Sisi announced a technocratic government will rule until new presidential and parliamentary elections are held - no time frame was set. The constitution will be reviewed by a panel representative of all sections of society. Media freedoms, under threat during Morsi's rule, would be protected.

That did not seem to prevent the shutdown of three channels, including one owned by the Brotherhood, and the arrest of a staffer at Egypt's Al Jazeera Mubasher, owned by the Gulf state of Qatar. The emirate is seen as close to the movement.

Saudi Arabia, in contrast, has long been suspicious of the Brotherhood's international ambitions. King Abdullah sent a message of congratulations to the man replacing Morsi. The United Arab Emirates also welcomed the change in Cairo.

US oil prices rose to a 14-month high above $100 a barrel partly on fears that unrest in Egypt could destabilise the Middle East and lead to supply disruption.

The massive anti-Morsi protests showed that the Brotherhood had not only alienated liberals and secularists by seeking to entrench Islamist rule, notably in the new constitution. But it also angered millions of Egyptians with economic mismanagement.

Tourism and investment have dried up, inflation is rampant and fuel supplies are running short, with power cuts lengthening in the summer heat and motorists spending hours fuelling cars.

With Egypt's economy left ragged by the unrest of the past two and half years, Morsi had been helped by gifts and loans from Qatar. The new authorities may hope for help from other quarters. Notably, an IMF loan has long been stalled.

The official spokesman of the Muslim Brotherhood said supporters were willing to become martyrs to defend Morsi.

But the Brotherhood also has an 85-year history of survival and may take a long view of whether it is better to draw in its horns and watch others try to reform Egypt's sclerotic economy.

A Brotherhood official, Gamal Heshmat, told Reuters: "There is absolutely no direction towards violence. The Brotherhood are not raised on violence. Their cause is a peaceful one, defending their rights, which is stronger than a military coup."

A colleague, Osama Gado, spoke by telephone from the square where thousands of Morsi supporters were gathered: "I am afraid to leave the square because I fear I could get arrested."